Young Millionaires Skeptical of Need for Advisers

Young millionaires doubt the value of financial advisers, according to Spectrem Group.

According to the Chicago-based company’s monthly newsletter, millionaires under the age of 45 say that they prefer self-directed investing and they find the services of a professional advisor to be too expensive.

The survey polled millionaires in three different age groups: 41 to 45, 35 to 40, and under 35. Predictably, the younger the millionaires, the stronger the sentiment. For example, 58% of individuals between 41 and 45 found the services of a financial adviser too expensive as did 74% of those under 35.

Younger investors are looking for access to a lot of information online, according to Spectrem, especially personal account information, comprehensive service/product offering information, research on financial products and instruments, the ability to aggregate financial information from multiple providers and articles on timely financial topics.

Those under 35 were particularly interested in information about alternative investments.

Spectrem recommended that advisers do three things to attract younger millionaires: Provide information about both high- and low-risk investments since young millionaires want to protect their wealth and grow it; invest in online applications; and provide in-depth technical information in articles on their websites